Niuheliang is a Hongshan culture ceremonial complex dating to approximately 3500–3000 BCE, located about 130 kilometres southwest of Chaoyang city in the hills of Jianping County. It is one of the most significant Neolithic archaeological sites in China: a network of stone-built altars, burial mounds, and what appears to be a ritual precinct that operated for centuries before being deliberately sealed and abandoned.
The site museum opened in 2012 around the original excavation trenches, allowing visitors to see the foundations of the Goddess Temple, the altar platform, and the burial cairns in context rather than just through reconstructed displays. The jade artefacts recovered here — including a type of dragon-shaped pendant called a zhulong that became the prototype for the Chinese dragon motif — are among the earliest known examples of the jade-working tradition that would define Chinese elite culture for the next four millennia. The full site covers several square kilometres; allow a half-day including the drive from Chaoyang.